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The Vivid Health Care Plan
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How do we get everyone on the same page, equally committed to creating a better healthcare system?
Who can unite each aspect involved, representing all sides of the issues, so that everyone can have equal voice?
Who can articulate the vast diversity of health care in a way that creates a positive change?
We can! A humanitarian effort is underway at the Helfgott Blog, we like to call it: The Vivid Health Care Plan. It’s based upon a similar response to reorganize the food industry in California called the Vivid Picture Project. As far as we’re concerned the momentum necessary for health care reform does not have to be abrupt, nor does it require an unseating of industry position, it merely requires an adjustment to each entity within the system so that everyone benefits, and health care can be provided in an effective, efficient, and altruistic manner.
With health care costs rising, and with politics actively discussing health care reform, the Vivid Health Care Plan is a necessary entity designed with the sole purpose to make health care work.
It’s as simple as hearing everyone out– from the grassroots of community to the wheat shaft of big business to the tall columns of Washington DC. Democracy is built for the people by the people. Let’s make the dream of functional health care a reality.
Please note:
The Vivid Health Care page will actively change over the next few weeks incorporating links and surveys designed to gather input from all facets of the health care system. You can be part of the change, let us hear from you.
Since the conception of the Vivid Health Care Plan, it has come to my attention the another group called “We Can Do Better” founded by former governor of Oregon, John Kitzhaber, has created a similar project, called the Archimedes Movement.
The efforts and initiative behind both plans of action are certainly worth a look. The Archimedes Movement possesses key political organizational skills with a more all-encompassing, yet directive momentum than our ideas outlined below. Our Vivid Health Care Plan, on the other hand, represents an elegant structure for what pieces will be necessary in order to create an open loop of communication between bottom-up and top-down perspectives within our health care system. Check them out, both tool sets and mission objectives are certainly in the right place, creating waves of change in just the right directions.
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Here’s the basic idea:
The flowchart outlined above provides our project with the necessary steps to make The Vivid Health Care Plan a working reality, however getting this project up and running with enough momentum is equally as important. Getting the word out about the project will ensure that everyone who wishes to participate, can. This brings up the first line of strategic action…. Learn more about the steps involved! Simply click upon the area you are most interested in:
THE PREAMBLE: Advertising for The Vivid Health Care Plan
STEP ONE: Surveying the populations about the current state of health care
STEPS FOUR AND FIVE: Put the collected and analyzed information into action
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THE PREAMBLE: Advertising for The Vivid Health Care Plan
Anyone can advertise for the project, and many avenues of communication naturally exist. To communicate effectively it is best to utilize both local and national/ international methodology, in essence employing action and awareness specifically on the immediate community level as well as on a larger global community level. Our emphasis is first placed upon the Portland metro area and then onto larger organizations. Here are a few basic areas that you can use (and the Helfgott Blog gnomes shall employ) to increase public awareness about health care reform and likewise get individuals excited about The Vivid Health Care Plan. As an active individual in your community, you can connect with these links below and provide your support directly for our project.
To locate a general list of news mediums for the state of Oregon, you can reference either here or here. To see more specific ideas about our targeted areas and plans for implementation, examine the links below….
- Radio: Portland’s 94.7 Gustav’s Perfect Playlist, KBOO Radio, OPB’s “Think Out Loud Program“; News Radio 750;
- Television: Local news stations (KATU: Channel 2, KOIN News 6, KGW: Channel 8, Kptv: Fox 12); Public television access stations; OPB; Operation Oprah Campaign
- The internet: Google Guys; Intel; Posting messages on personal webpages and blogs; Emailing friends and relatives. Soon we will have a”webtag” that you can post on your site pledging support to project as well as helping to direct others to our cause.
- Places of business and educational campuses: NCNM, PSU, OCOM, and OHSU
- Food markets: People’s CO-OP, New Seasons Markets, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods.
- Local newspapers and magazines: Willamette Week, Portland Mercury, Portland Monthly, Oregonian, The New York Times, USA Today, and Yes!
If you are already a member or are employed by one of these organizations, please feel free to contact us directly. We would love to collaborate our ideas and in turn help make a sustainable health care system.
Advertising for The Vivid Health Care Plan will attract more people to the website and alert individuals to our cause for a community-wide effort to reform health care. By participating in the steps below, we can systematically assess how to go about resolving the existing gaps in our health care system.
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STEP ONE: Surveying every population about the current state of health care
In the up-coming year, the Helfgott Blog will complete a series of surveys that are specific to each aspect of the health care community as outlined in the flow chart above. Each survey will address basic background information, types of medical treatment sought, costs involved with health care, and any concerns or solutions already at play in our health care system. Listed below are the categories to choose from, a more detailed description for each group is underway. You may choose to fill out any of the surveys that apply to you and what you do within the realm of health care; for instance, nearly everyone is a consumer/ patient, but someone could also work for an insurance company, therefore theoretically this person could fill out two surveys.
Categories to choose from:
1. Consumers/patients
2. Clinical practices/Health practitioners
3. Social organizations
4. Pharmaceutical companies
5. Laboratory/technical medicine
6. Drug stores/ medicine distributors
7. Insurance companies
8. Researchers and Journal Publication
9. Food Industry
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The collection of responses is an active, yet passive process. Momentum from the advertising campaign will continue to build interest, and individuals and organizations will continue to add insight into the process. This will be a practice of patience and persistence, allowing time for an increase in awareness about The Vivid Health Care Plan. In essence, we let our ideas grow in the public realm through the advertising campaign.
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It’s a simple as it says, we will examine and determine what conduits of communication and information already naturally exist, in addition to any lulls or inadequacies within the infrastructure. Knowing this information will allow us to truly identify where we can begin to shift resources in order to accurately and efficiently apply our expertise to the specific areas in need.
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STEPS FOUR AND FIVE: Put the collected and analyzed information into action
We will evaluate our health care using all of the information collected and determine if our specific aims are viable within the current system or if additional information should be sought out. Emphasis will be placed upon the following three aims listed above, however any additional and obvious conclusions that can be drawn from the data will be addressed.
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STEP SIX: A sustainable health care system
The final aspect to The Vivid Health Care Plan is to achieve a working and sustainable health care system. This is the last step in the process, actualizing our idea: possessing a tangible plan for a health care system based upon everyone’s input! A thorough and thoughtful process will enable other cities to use The Vivid Health Care Plan as a model for health care reform in other local communities. The more communities that get on board with this idea, the more organization we can have on a national and eventually global level. Knowing the details for each entity, for each city, for each county, for each state, for each nation will enable us to adequately address the needs specific to the individuals involved by minor adjustments to the systems in place. Each uniqueness is is accounted for, each resource is used most effectively, and a sustainable system of health care is easily underway. Yep. The people over at Focus the Nation managed to rally an entire nation over global warming, why can we do something similar for health and wellness? Let’s begin to discover solutions to a very real issue, let’s put our minds together to really create a universal health care system.
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Check out our Community Resource Page elegantly compiled by the people at the Helfgott Blog. You can discover what organizations are already in place, especially those that emphasize patient empowerment through educational workshops and other sites designed to facilitate affordable and sustainable health care.
Specifics for patients and consumers:
The peeps at Helfgott are discussing the current state of our healthcare system, specifically the place where the rubber meets the road – the care a patient receives. We are most interested in people having direct access to the care that they want. To us this means patient-centered care, where all options are made available to them. For this to be possible the health care discussion needs to be de-politicized. The discussion ought to be placed in the hands of the people whose health the system should be designed to serve. Up to now the health care dialogue has been controlled by different special interest groups with specific perspectives. At times it appears that these special interest groups have goals that are at odds with the needs and desires of the individual. To this end we have identified three main priorities for health care:
- You should never have to worry about a preexisting condition.
- All diseases and conditions should be covered by an insurance company. There should be no denials of coverage for any reason.
- You can rest assured that no matter what your socio-economic status, that if a situation would befall you, you would remain eligible for the best health care available.
We would like to hear from you!
It is our belief that people have a lot to say on this subject and we want to hear it! This forum is an opportunity for all of us to express our thoughts about the care that we have access to and receive. Moreover, to consider the possibilities of what optimal care can be. This is an important point. Often, change feels daunting and so we don’t let ourselves even consider what we truly desire. This has been true for us participating in this dialogue. We have three basic questions to get you started; yet we would like to hear any and all you have to say. Feel free to include others in this discussion.
What would your ideal system of health care look like?
What is your experience with health care?
Do you feel that your needs are being met?
In addition to your comments being part of a compelling dialogue on this site, it would be excellent if our elected representatives were made aware of our thoughts. You can follow the link below to open a window to contact your representatives. Cut and paste your comments into an email and bend an ear.
Write to your elected official.
Senator Kennedy heads the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. On his website, he says he lives by the following credo: “One person can make a difference and everyone should try.” Let’s show him our efforts; here’s Senator Kennedy’s email.
